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HOUSMAIL HM104 26
April 2003 THE PASSOVER PROPHECY
AND THE CRUCIFIXION The
Passover was regarded by Jews as one of THE most important events in the History
of the Jewish nation. It was to be kept as an everlasting memorial of the beginning
of their history as a nation, when "By strength of hand, The LORD brought them
out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage". (Exodus 13:3) In our time, religious
Jews still do that, all over the world. At first
glance it would be easy for the spiritually lazy to write this topic off as one
of those "technical" things of little practical worth. However, it can
be FAR more than that. If we put the effort into it, it can be one of the VERY
exciting things from the Old Testament prophecies, which identify Jesus as the
Messiah. (Luke 24:44-47) It is
the prophecy which told Jesus WHEN He would die; and WHERE He would die; and also
WHEN he would rise again -- "on the third day"! And
THAT makes it very important. It is one of the foundation tools God has given
us on which to build our FAITH. THE
OLD TESTAMENT PASSOVER TIMETABLE 1.
10th day of the first month - ABIB: *
Select the Passover lamb.
(Exodus 12:3) *
Without blemish. (Exodus 12:5) *
Keep it until the 14th
day. 2.
14th day of ABIB -- PREPARATION DAY FOR THE PASSOVER MEAL. *
Remove all leaven from
their homes. *
Eat only Unleavened bread.
(Exodus 12:18) *
John calls this the "The
day of Preparation of the Passover", (John
19:14) and "the Jewish day of Preparation".
(John 19:42) 3.
14th day of ABIB -- Kill the lamb in the evening. (Exodus 12:6) The
Hebrew text actually says the lamb was to be killed "between the TWO evenings". (KJV margin) The
Jews interpreted this phrase to mean about mid-afternoon, between the 9th and
11th hours -- about 3-00pm to 5-00pm. (Josephus, War 6,9,3) 4.
15TH DAY OF ABIB God
calls this day a "Holy Convocation". It was
first day of the feast of UNLEAVENED BREAD. It coincided
with eating the PASSOVER MEAL "that night", with unleavened bread, and
bitter herbs. (Exodus 12:8) Note - the 15th day began at sunset on the 14th. No foreigner
was to eat of it. (Exodus 12:43 cf. Hebrews 13:10) NOT
A BONE WAS TO BE BROKEN! (Exodus 12:46) 5.
The next morning, (still the 15th day) *
commemorated the beginning
of the “EXODUS" -- their journey to the promised land. (Numbers 33:3) 6.
16TH DAY OF ABIB -- THE FEAST OF THE FIRST FRUITS. (Leviticus 23:9-14) [This
refers to the first fruits of the barley harvest. It would always occur during
the Feast of Unleavened Bread.] The
phrase is a little obscure. It could mean: However,
the Pharisees had formalized this to ALWAYS keep the feast on the SIXTEENTH day
of the month. [This is confirmed by Josephus in Antiquities 3,10,5.] Interpreted
this way, the "First Fruits" did not necessarily occur on a "first
day" of the week. However God FOUND a way to make sure that, in spite of
the interference of the Pharisees, there was no ambiguity about which day He meant! He simply
arranged things so that, in the year in which Jesus was crucified, the "normal"
seventh day Sabbath, and the Passover "High Day", coincided! And this
meant that the "First Fruits" fell on the first day of the week! As we shall see below, all this is remarkably paralleled THE
NEW TESTAMENT CRUCIFIXION WEEK TIMETABLE 1.
10TH DAY OF ABIB -- Sunday after Sunset. Jesus
arrived near Bethany (Mark 11:1) and threw down His provocative challenge to the Jews. By riding
that donkey into Jerusalem He openly declared himself as the Messiah! And
when the crowds welcomed Him as "Son of David", (Matthew 21:15) and "King”, 2.
14th DAY OF ABIB -- Thursday after Sunset. It was
the preparation day for the Passover Meal and the Feast of Unleavened bread. Jesus
sent the disciples to prepare the upper room. Amongst other things they would
have made certain that the house was cleared of all leaven. When they sat down
to eat that evening it was NOT the Passover meal. It was the evening before. This
is clear because Jesus was still alive, and the lamb would not be sacrificed until
the next afternoon -- Friday 3-00pm onwards. 3.
14th DAY OF ABIB -- Friday daylight 9-00am
Jesus was crucified 3-00pm
Jesus died -- at the precise moment the first lamb was slain. When
the Roman soldiers saw that Jesus was already dead, they did not break his legs!
("Neither shall ye break a bone thereof"!) Instead they made sure that he was dead by piercing his
side with a spear Before sunset on this "preparation day" Jesus was
buried. 4.
15th Day OF ABIB -- Friday after Sunset to Sunset Saturday This
was the day which God called a "Holy Convocation". Unaware
of the glorious New Covenant fulfillment of what they were doing the Jews ate
their PASSOVER Meal. 5.
16th DAY OF ABIB -- Sunday at sunrise The
"Feast of the Firstfruits" AND the THIRD DAY! JESUS
ROSE FROM THE DEAD! -- HALLELUJAH! 6.
THE JERUSALEM EXODUS In Matthew 17:1-8 and Luke 9:31 there is recorded a VISION
in which three disciples saw Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah. One
of the really interesting details has been lost in the translation. The Greek
word used by Luke for "departure" (See verse 31) is "EXODUS"! In His
Death and Resurrection, Jesus has prepared the way for our personal EXODUS from
"Spiritual Egypt". We may choose to follow Him, leave behind our slavery
to sin, and begin our journey to the PROMISED LAND! And that is just one more of many other very exciting examples of
the details which lie hidden behind the story of the Passover, to confirm Jesus
as the MESSIAH. Allon CHRIST OUR PASSOVER IS SACRIFICED FOR US (1 Corinthians 5:7) HE IS RISEN AND NOW IN HEAVEN ITSELF, NOW TO APPEAR IN FROM THERE HE WILL APPEAR A SECOND TIME ..... TO SAVE WE HAVE AN ALTAR FROM WHICH NO FOREIGNER MAY EAT! (Hebrews 13:10) |